• The PUTOLINE HF204 oil filter has a very high quality.

• The filter meets or even exceeds OEM specs.

• Its performance is something we’ve never experienced before.

We thought we’ve tried them all and found them to be the same, but along comes this Putoline HF204 oil filter.

But first, a little background

The next most important consumable in your engine is the oil filter, after the oil.

The filter’s job is to capture contaminants in the oil. They include inorganic contaminants such as dust being pulled into the engine through a dirty air filter, besides microscopic to large metal shavings of internal engine parts. Organic impurities include oxidized petroleum and bacteria that can form sludge. Besides those, the filter must take care of moisture, too.

It’s critical that parts including the camshaft and cam lobes, piston rings, piston connecting rod bearings, cylinder walls, crankshaft bearings, transmission, clutch are not only lubricated, but lubricated by contaminant-free oil.

However, that’s not all. The oil filter needs to keep the oil flowing in a smooth manner while filtering it. Oil flow has to be constant, regardless if you are idling, shuffling through traffic or at a full blast at Karak or the track. It needs to keep up with engine RPM fluctuations during gear shifts.

The filter must not break down nor impede oil flow as the oil ages. If the filter element breaks down, it will find its way into the engine and cause claustrophobic damage. The same happens if oil stops flowing.

About PUTOLINE HF204 oil filter

Putoline oil filters are made to provide a reliable service from the very moment you spin them on.

They feature various types of synthetic filter media (elements) that capture inorganic and organic contaminants in oil. This nano fibre filter media is further supported by steel wire. As such, the filter has a service life of one year or 40,000 km (25,000 miles). (But do replace your oil and filter during every oil change interval.)

All this quality would usually see the product of being expensive, yet it is priced at a very reasonable price. We suspect this is achieved by careful sourcing of parts that constitute the final product. All Putoline filters get their steel from Japan, glues from Germany and filter element from Finland. The company is based in Holland, by the way.

First impression

We were (pleasantly) surprised to see its housing when we took the plastic cover off. It’s a type of coating we’ve yet seen. Smooth, deeply painted, we’re told by the (official distributor) Bikerzone that it’s the same type of coating used for grand pianos.

Any suspicion we had about the claim was quashed when we installed it. I had ordered the wrong oil filter wrench cap and it couldn’t fit squarely on the filter’s flutes. Consequently, it scratched up and warped the old filter’s top when I removed it.

But I didn’t have a choice. The old filter now sat in the drain pan, surrounded by used oil.

So, wrong wrench or not, the new Putoline filter had to go on. The wrench cap would grab the new filter on and off, on and off. Thank goodness that oil filters need only a quarter turn from hand tightening. I checked and checked, but there was not one scratch on the housing.

Impressive.

Next of course, is riding. I’ve since logged nearly 500 km by the time of this writing. My bike used to stumble when rolling on the throttle from around 2000 RPM, but that stumble has disappeared. The bike would also sometimes seem choked a bit after changing gears. That also vanished.

But it wasn’t just about on throttle. The bike has also smoothed out by heaps when I went off throttle. The ER-6f has a natural high back-torque (engine braking) which interrupts smooth midcorner rolling speed. Now it’s as smooth as a bike with slipper clutch.

Conclusion

The Putoline HF204 has changed how the bike feels and makes it a pleasure to ride. Of course, everything feels good when its new, but we’ll continue with monitoring the part through its lifespan. Stay tuned for the next review at 1500 km.

So, are all oil filters the same? “No” is the resounding answer.

Where to buy?

You can order the filter from our BikesRepublic webstore. For the record, we only sell products that we’ve used and/or trust, instead of pushing for profits. The filters meets or even exceeds OEM specs.

Please click on the link below for the Putoline HF204 synthetic filter:

https://bikesrepublic.com/store/product/putoline-hf204-synthetic-oil-filter-for-honda-kawasaki-mv-triumph-yamaha/

We also have the Putoline HF153 synthetic filter for Ducati models. Please click on the link below:

https://bikesrepublic.com/store/product/putoline-hf153-synthetic-oil-filter-for-ducati/